INTRODUCTION: Welcome to the SFA Mast Arboretum . . . we are glad that you are now a part of planning and planting for a better Nacogdoches. The Arboretum appreciates all of your time and talents in creating a beautiful garden resource for the community. SFASU, the local citizenry and the many visitors that enjoy the beauty of our plants in a natural setting benefit from your volunteerism. Since you represent the Arboretum, we would like for you to become familiar with the garden, it’s history, and a few simple policies. This handbook summarizes the basic philosophy of the Arboretum, organization of the Volunteer Corps and the many opportunities for service.

THE SFA MAST ARBORETUM’S MISSION STATEMENT:

1. Promote the conservation, selection and use of the native plants of Texas.

2. Acquire, evaluate, and promote new and adapted landscape plant materials. Promote plant diversity in the landscape.

3. Serve as a living laboratory for SFASU students and faculty and as a horticultural resource for the nursery and landscape industry.

4. Provide an aesthetic, colorful and educational environment for students, visitors, and local citizens.

HISTORY OF THE ARBORETUM: The first arboretum at a university in Texas began on the south side of the Agriculture building in 1985 as the fall semester project of a Landscape plant materials class. This on-campus "jewel in the LaNana creek necklace" now spills over ten acres. The Arboretum includes about a quarter-mile stretch of the LaNana Creek Trail, a walking, jogging and biking trail that neatly bisects Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas. The Arboretum mixes student learning with university resources to create a gardening treasure for the region. Many of the species on display have never been tested in Texas. The collection has been assembled through exchange efforts with the Arnold Arboretum, the National Arboretum, the North Carolina State University Arboretum, plant enthusiasts, plant hunters and specialty nurseries. Rare trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers and herbaceous perennials abound.

The Arboretum has grown each year via the creation of varied "theme" gardens. Current gardens either completed or near completion and a few significant Arboretum features are illustrated in the attached arboretum map. There are many significant collections in the Arboretum, including: 1) a shrub and color garden, 2) a Texas Heritage Garden that features plant favorites of east Texas gardeners in the nineteenth century, 3) a daylily garden that includes an "almost-complete" collection of the Stout Medal Series, the best of the best as voted on by the American Hemerocallis Society, 4) an herb garden that features a "gray and green" garden and a fragrant path, a garden supported the Herb Society of Deep East Texas, 5) a Rock Garden, the "Elking Environment," is home to about 60 different herbaceous perennials, most from drier climes further west, 6) an Iris garden that displays Iris species and cultivars, both dry and wet-loving types, 7) a woodland glen - the shade garden - is home to a collection of southern native and exotic ferns, hostas, and many other shade-loving species, 8) a "bog" flourishing with wetland plant treasures, several that are endangered or threatened in the native habitat, 9) a perennial border, home to many herbaceous garden plants that show promise for Texas gardens, 10) a section dedicated to outstanding southern native plants, 11) an "Asian valley" that features over 50 varieties of Japanese maple, over two hundred varieties and ten groups of Rhododendrons and azaleas, and many woodland companion plants, 12) a dry garden that displays many new plants in the landscape from western U.S. and Mexico and is based on minimum input gardening, dry and heat-loving plants, 13) a conifer and holly garden displays many rare and potentially outstanding landscape plants, 14) a "vegetable garden" is the work of students in various Horticulture and Agronomy classes, and 15) a "lines of vines" collection has been established at the north end of the arboretum as a part of the vegetable garden: an assembly of sun-loving, showy, woody climbers, each established on their own display posts. Gardens in the works: Development of a "Children’s Garden" - that includes an outdoor education pavilion erected by the Timber Framers Guild in March 1998, the SFA Azalea Garden (an eight acre garden development slated for completion by March 2000), an aquatic garden (three connected pools on the College Avenue slope, a butterfly/hummingbird garden, a vegetable/flower garden, and a wildlife habitat.

As a direct result of Arboretum growth, the health of the living plant collection, and increased visitation, the SFA Mast Arboretum Board of Advisors was formed on May 19, 1995. This group of 40 supporters represents the nursery and landscape industry in Texas, representatives from the Texas A & M University horticultural extension service, and local gardening enthusiasts. The Board meets two times per year - on the day before the May Garden Gala Day and the Fabulous Fall Festival. The Board’s purpose is simple: promote the Arboretum’s mission statement, provide technical help in research and program development, and solicit funds to insure the Arboretum’s viability and growth in the future.

The key attributes are obvious: ten acres of LaNana creek bottom land and mid-slopes, good soils, and a solid set sprinkler irrigation system. A 50' X 100' glass greenhouse is divided into three climate-controlled compartments. Excellent plant propagation facilities are housed in the third compartment and feature control of bottom heat and mist frequency. A 30' X 100' Quonset greenhouse is similar to most commercial houses in industry use today, featuring a double wall polyethylene covering, Moline heaters and polyethylene convection tubing, and pad and fan cooling. A 60' X 60' shade house and a 20’ X 80’ outdoor container-growing area serves as an outdoor growing yard for containerized woody ornamentals and herbaceous perennials. A 60' X 60' head house completes the horticulture facility complex. Finally, an eighteen-station computer-assisted design (CAD) and graphics art technology lab is in place and is used to teach basic AutoCad^® and LandCADD^® to Landscape Design, Interior Design, Forestry, Geology and other students at SFASU. The resource is also a powerful platform for any arboretum research and development projects needing good data and maps - superior record-keeping ability.

The most significant outreach resource, Mill Creek Gardens, is a recently-endowed ($100,000) 119-acre conservation easement agreement with a local landholder, Mrs. Elisabeth Montgomery of S.B. Hayter Trust, Nacogdoches, Texas. The endowment will fund research and development activities on that property: projects that promote the conservation, selection and use of the native plants of Texas and the testing of new plant materials for Texas. The 119-acre natural area is six miles west of the university, easy to access, and offers a unique mix of wetland, mesic mid-slopes and xeric uplands, properties ideal for testing a wide range of plant materials. Total value of all resources associated with the Arboretum exceeds one million dollars.

1. Create a first-class Arboretum that is home to a wide diversity of plant materials mixed into a setting of colorful landscape displays.

2. The Arboretum will encourage a wide diversity of landscape philosophies.

3. Provide education through on-site theme garden interpretation and on-plant identification labeling.

4. Maintain a records-keeping system that accessions new plants, maps their location in the arboretum, and tracks performance over the years.

5. Increased number of plants in the living collection (to 5000 taxa) and increased annual distributions of promising plants to nurserymen and landscapers.

6. Installation of demonstration gardens that display and interpret basic principles of low-input, sustainable horticulture.

7. Increased visitation and more regional awareness.

8. Increased efficiency of computer mapping and plant database management.

9. Increased profile and impact of arboretum research and outreach through collaboration with other agencies and the nursery and landscape industry

10. Increased value as a student teaching and recruiting tool.

11. Enhanced signage and interpretation in all theme gardens.

12. Create a volunteer corps that takes on the responsibility of theme garden maintenance needs, garden tours, and Arboretum events.

13. Promote arboretum findings through paper presentations, publications, periodicals, newsletters, arboretum-sponsored events, and SFASU Arboretum plant "giveaways" at the annual Texas Association of Nurserymen (TAN and the Northeast Texas Nursery Growers Association (NETNGA).

Mission Statement

AVCO is a group of citizens committed to creating a special gardening resource in east Texas. Our mission is to help support the Stephen F. Austin State University Arboretum through physical labor, fund raising and community awareness.

Organization

AVCO will work directly under a "coordinator" selected by the SFASU Arboretum Board of Advisors. The selection will be based on ability, interest and willingness to serve.

The following is the AVCO organizational chart. Officers will be elected yearly by the members of AVCO. Fifty hours of volunteer service per year will be required for voting rights.

President (Reports to the "Coordinator" of the SFASU Arboretum Board of Advisors).

1st Vice-President (Grounds - Garden Guides)

2nd Vice-President (Garden Gala Day Sale - other plant growing/sales opportunities)

Treasurer

Recording Secretary

Appointed Officers

Community Liaison

Hospitality

Newsletter

Timekeeping

Nominating Committee

1. Theme garden curator - An opportunity to take on the stewardship of a major garden area. Chores include planting, weeding, pruning, mulching and labeling depending on the interest and enthusiasm of the volunteer.

2. Garden guide - Garden guides serve as interpreters for outdoor plant exhibits and introduce the SFASU Arboretum to visiting groups (School-age and garden clubs, primarily). Each tour guide (docent) will be provided with a written script that leads the group through the various collections, a general orientation to the garden and special training to make the garden tour an enjoyable, educational experience visitors.

3. Greenhouse and shade house - A chance to learn techniques of propagation, get involved with a wide range of plant materials, and understand the growing of plants in containers. Help us convert a compartment of the glasshouse into a conservatory. Chores include planting, weeding, fertilizing, and labeling.

4. Events - Arboretum Garden Gala Day and Fabulous Fall Festival in October - two main events of the year, an opportunity to present the gardens in their peak form. Opportunities include greeters, registration, handouts and garden guides for groups of ten to twenty.

5. Plant Sale - The two sales are a large collection of plants grown by the volunteers at the Arboretum, grown at the homes of the volunteers or secured via donations from specialty nurseries. Opportunities for service include publicity, setting up the event (tents, flags, parking), plant labeling and signage, checkers and cashiers.

6. Label and sign-making - If you would like to help yet gardening doesn’t appeal to you, there are other opportunities available. The Arboretum always needs label makers for plants in the Arboretum and in the nursery. In addition, the two plant sales involve labeling for all plant materials.

7. Producing the annual "color" crop for the SFASU campus and the Arboretum - The horticulture facility is responsible for producing a portion of the annual color that graces the university campus. Tens of thousands of bedding plants are planted each spring to supply the needs of color beds on the campus and in the arboretum. A roll-up-your-sleeves opportunity to learn the growing of annuals from seeds and plugs on a large scale (soil mixing, germinating techniques, proper watering and light requirements).

 

All volunteers are required to record the total number of hours worked. These records are important. The total is used for grant applications and other funding requests. For each volunteer, total are used for award recognition which is based upon the cumulative number of hours given to the Arboretum. A sample log sheet is attached at the end of the handbook.

Log sheets will be distributed and collected by the time keeper each month.

The Arboretum is open dawn to dusk. Our general philosophy is simple: enjoy the garden, take only pictures, and leave only footprints. Visitors, students and volunteers are asked to respect the garden, the plants, and the hardscape (benches, structures, fountains). Dogs that behave well are welcome. Picnics are fine - take out what you take in. We do not allow the cutting of flowers. Cutting acquisition is allowed only with permission from the Arboretum Director and an understanding of the accepted cutting collection techniques. No alcohol or fires permitted. Weddings and parties only by arrangement with the Arboretum Director. No overnight camping is allowed. No unsupervised children. No motorcycles. Bicyclists are restricted to the LaNana creek trail.

Directions: Please put the date and number of hours you worked and the activity undertaken.

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